US Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
A Conundrum for the States -- A Nightmare for People with Mental Illness:
The ADA & Olmstead require States to provide Housing in certain circumstances to people with disabilities to avoid unnecessary institutionalization; BUT Housing is NOT a Federal Entitlement like Medicaid
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So there was a big push to get CMS (the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) to recognize "Housing as Healthcare." Well, they kinda did and they even went so far as to briefly discuss the States' obligations to provide Housing under Olmstead, AND then CMS promptly said they weren't going to fund Housing BUT they would fund all kinds of things and services surrounding Housing. Click Here for CMS document, etc.
Well, those things actually are helpful AND we still NEED the HOUSING. Now the problem is because the Federal government doesn't treat Housing as an Entitlement like healthcare under Medicaid --it is discretionary funding under HUD (US Dept. of Housing & Urban Development), States have a rather disastrous habit of treating their Olmstead Housing obligations as discretionary as well -- which they ARE NOT! So Colorado does a very good job of getting the Federal Housing vouchers it can and some other monies AND it recognizes that there is this Olmstead duty out there just as other States do-- but that Legal Duty is enforced pretty sporadically, there are no damages, and the attorneys fees and other costs (if any) in the scheme of things are pretty much put down to the cost of doing business as a State. This is a helluva way to ensure housing to some of our most vulnerable Coloradans. |
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